In college, my wife had a journal that she passed around to everyone. Each person would write down their likes and dislikes. It was fun to read because some considered it a serious effort, others merely fun. Every day I run across things that I like and dislike. Here are some of my likes from the past week:
- Lifetime Fitness
- Lightroom for most of my photo needs
- My wife, my kids
- Google Reader - love it but I wouldn’t call it efficient. Don’t forget to add iotaoflife.com as a subscription
- Delta tools are hand for building pinewood derby cars for cub scouts
- Home Depot - paint for the girls’ room this week. something else every other week
- Chai tea - my daily indulgence
- Podcasts - see my previous blog entry
- Our neighbors
- Open Door
- Living in America
- Lost - 11 days to go
My dislikes:
- Really cold weather without snow. How many snowstorms have been promised but missed our house this year?
- The pile - every house has one and it grows until it must be destroyed (or sorted)
- Forgetting why I went upstairs…or downstairs
- Verbing of the English language. Have you noticed how often people use words as verbs when they’re not meant for that?
- Phrases like, “It is what it is”
- Long blog entries
- Anything Hershey’s, except mint kisses
- Recycling bins that are too small
Santa Lucia
We’ve just come through a season of giving. Everyone is familiar with Santa Claus. His origins are numerous, both pagan and Christian, but are typically associated with generous giving. On December 13th, or near to it, our family celebrates Santa Lucia Day. Saint Lucy lived around 300 AD and, as told in one story, helped Christians who were hiding in the catacombs by bringing supplies to them. We commemorate this act of giving each year by having one of our daughters wear the candle crown and sharing food with the rest of the famiy. Afterward, as a family we talk about ways we can help others and then we do just that.
Though we give throughout the year, we take even more time to consider it in December because we are surrounded by more visibile requests and we’re thinking about taxes. Uncle Sam does both giving and taking, but we can influence how much he takes through charitable contributions and we can direct giving to those we most want to support. Some of the places we give cannot be deducted, but many are.
Here are some of the people (through organizations) that we’ve been able to support:
Local:
National:
International:
Check out the links if you’re interested. It’s clear that many charitable organizations are financially challenged.
I typically maintain a list of books I’ve read each year. I’ve created a page to list books read in 2008.
Do you every stop to think about things that you’ve stopped doing? Here are a few things that came to mind for me:
- Buying and selling individual stocks and stock options - only occasionally now
- Touching up paint on my cars - they don’t rust anymore
- Computer programming - I think I’ve tossed all my books on C++, HTML, etc.
- Wearing ties, sweater vests
- Singing out of a hymnal - some things I do miss
- Reading fiction - too many other things to read though I may read an occasional fiction book
- Carrying a briefcase to work
- Sleeping in on the weekends - going strong for nearly eleven years now
- Less singing - same amount of music through kid’s lessons and a growing interest in classical music
- Slow dial-up at home for work - I remember spending an hour or two uploading a powerpoint presentation
What’s your list? Do you miss any of it?
